Improving your East London property could benefit your neighbours too
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by Adam Dockley
- August 5, 2018
- Construction, Marketing, Real Estate
- 0
I’m a big believer in improving properties prior to selling them – more buyers these days seem to be looking for something they can move straight into, rather than choosing a property with “potential.”
But did you know that investing in anything from a two-storey extension to a new front door can add value not just to your property but also to your neighbours’? Across London, I’m seeing apartment block improvements raising selling prices both for the people whose apartments benefit directly, and for even for those that appear not to.
Improving apartment blocks in East London
An increasing number of tenants’ associations are working to improve the exterior and communal areas of their apartment blocks, raising the value of each and every apartment.
For example, adding balconies is already known to increase the value of the upstairs apartments, but it’s also worth noting that non-balcony apartments in the same block are likely to increase in value too.
Likewise, re-landscaping a communal garden will raise the value of the whole development, not just the ground floor apartments that give directly onto it.
Why does raising the value of one unit benefit all the properties?
I’m sure you’ve noticed that RightMove and other property websites like to feature average house prices for a street or a development. They arrive at this figure by looking at the approximate valuations and recent selling prices of all the properties in a development and averaging them out.
The reality of these average prices is this: once you’ve sold your property for a record price, the average value will be pushed up. This means that future sellers will be able to ask for higher prices for their own properties, even if they haven’t improved them to the same extent that you did with your own.
It pays to be a good neighbour
Some of you reading this might be living next door to someone who is awaiting planning permission for a conservatory, or sharing an apartment block with a family who want to install a balcony.
Planning applications can be bones of contention between neighbours, but nine times out of ten, it’s a good idea to support them. These improvements will raise the price of your neighbour’s property immediately, and – more importantly for you – raise the value of your own property in the long term, by pushing up the average house price for your development.
Get your East London property ready to sell
If you’d like to find out more about maximising your property and investing in improvements before you put it on the market, talk to me. I can project manage the refurbishment, as well as advising on what would appeal best to the widest market. Call me today on 020 3633 4440 – let’s make the most of your property!
